


Light Up the Dark

by irelandhoneybee



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Daredevil AU, F/M, Fluff, Harlequin Hoopla, Karedevil in a Romcom is My Everything, Marvel HEA, Meet Cute/Meet Disaster, Notting Hill Setup, romance tropes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:26:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22846339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irelandhoneybee/pseuds/irelandhoneybee
Summary: Matt Murdock is having a very off morning, which results in him spilling his drink all over Karen Page
Relationships: Matt Murdock/Karen Page
Comments: 11
Kudos: 31
Collections: MHEA Harlequin Hoopla Prompt Challenge 2020





	Light Up the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Marvel Harlequin Hoopla/Prompt: The Notting Hill set-up: "I spilled something on you, want to get cleaned up in my apartment?"

Matt Murdock was having a bad day. And it was only ten o’clock in the morning. Probably not a good sign for how the rest of the day would go. He sighed as he made his way down the crowded sidewalk. It had been past 4:00 a.m. when he finally made it home, and by the time he had taken a quick shower and got himself bandaged up it had been after 5:00. He had slept through his alarm for a good fifteen minutes before throwing some clothes on and had practically sprinted out of his apartment, only forcing himself to slow down and use his cane when he got out of the building. 

He stopped short when the intoxicating smell of fresh coffee hit him. He had been in such a hurry to get out the door, he had skipped breakfast. More importantly, he had skipped his morning coffee. And he could _really_ use a cup. He was late already; a quick stop at the coffee truck wouldn’t make that much of a difference. Surely Foggy would understand the need for caffeine. He ordered it iced, deciding to take advantage of the warmer weather.

He paid, and took a heavenly sip just as his phone started to chirp Foggy’s name, his friend no doubt wondering where he was and if he had to come patch him up. When Matt thought back on it later, he theorized that what ended up happening was the combination of several things: being over-tired, attempting to answer his phone while balancing the flimsy plastic cup, getting out of the way of a couple of kids who had turned around to chase their dog who had somehow gotten off his leash. If it had been any other day, he would have noticed that a woman was turning the corner at the same time he was and discreetly gotten out of her way in time. But he did not, and before he knew it, they were colliding, and his coffee, which he had only taken a measly sip of, was all over her. 

“Shit!” the woman cried. “This is just perfect.” she muttered under her breath.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry”. Matt quickly disconnected the call and shoved his phone in his pocket; he’d explain everything to Foggy later. It was official, this was the worst day ever. Matt could tell the woman now covered in his coffee and inspecting the damage to her shirt was also taking in that he was blind, and a wave of guilt passed through him as he could sense some of the fight going out of her. 

“Oh, it’s ok don’t worry about it.” She mumbled. “Given how my week has been, I probably should have expected to get splashed with coffee. I guess I should be grateful it wasn’t hot”.

Matt smiled. “Yikes. The whole week? And here I was feeling sorry for myself about how bad a start my _day_ has gotten off to”, he said. 

“Oh. Yeah, no. This is just par for the course this week, believe me.”

“I’m sorry”, he said, a little surprised to find he truly meant it. He very much wanted to try to make this day better for her, even just the tiniest bit. She just sounded so drained and so... _kind_ , before Matt even knew what he was saying the words were out of his mouth.

“Listen, my apartment is that building right back there. If you want to, um, clean up?” he wasn’t sure why his voice went up at the end. She probably thought he was a serial killer. Who invites a total stranger to their apartment to clean up in New York City?

He could feel her studying him, and tried not to squirm under her intense gaze. Her heartbeat was steady, and he had the feeling nothing much fazed her. 

Eventually she nodded; apparently having decided he did not, in fact, seem like a serial killer, and then he sensed heat rush to her face, when she realized that he would need a verbal response. He tried very hard not to smile. 

“Um, I mean, if it’s not too much trouble, that would be great.” 

“No, not at all. Right this way” Matt set out holding his cane steady to guide him as he led the way.

“You know, I should probably get your name” she said, falling in step beside him.

Matt grinned. “It’s Matt.”

“Nice to meet you, Matt. I’m Karen”

They were both quiet as they made their way up to Matt’s apartment.

He didn’t know what to do with himself while Karen was in his bathroom. A sudden embarrassment hit him about the sparseness of this apartment. And should he offer something to drink? Should he start a pot of coffee? 

Karen emerged after a few minutes, her bag slung over her shoulder.

“Thanks so much for this.”

“Oh of course. Is the stain…” he let his voice trail off.

“Yeah it’s pretty bad. I’ll have to go home and get a clean one, there’s no way I can show up at the office with a giant coffee stain. I’m on thin enough ice already.”, she said, a resigned tone to her voice.

“Um, do you want- maybe you can wear one of my shirts? Only if you want?”

“Oh, I couldn’t take one of your shirts.”

“I insist. Please, it’s the least I can do”.

He could feel those intense eyes of hers on him again, and he was pretty sure they were both blushing. 

“OK. Thank you so much, really.”

“So, you’re on thin ice at work?” he asked, immediately chiding himself for asking. 

“Oh... yeah. It’s, um, complicated, I guess.”

“What do you do?”

“I work in obits at the New York Bulletin. I’m hoping to be able to write actual stories though, which is what’s getting me in trouble.”

“Stories like what?”

“I pitched one but they don’t want me to write it. You’ve heard about the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, right?”

Matt dropped the shirt he was about to hand to her. “Oh sorry!”

“I got it. Thank you so much” Karen proceeded to take off her coffee-stained shirt, and was standing in front of him in her bra as she undid the buttons on the shirt he had lent her and put it on. Matt had to remind himself not to show any reaction, and tried very hard to ignore the fluttering in his chest. 

“The Bulletin is taking a hard stance on the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen; they think he basically amounts to a terrorist, which is so completely misguided. I’m probably biased because I’ve seen him in action, but I truly believe he’s trying to make the city a better place.”

“You’ve seen him in action?” Matt managed to croak out. 

“Yeah, I saw him stop a robbery right outside my building. And I’ve tried to follow what he does, and from what I can tell, the people he goes after deserve to get their asses beat. I really think he’s doing a lot of good, but no one wants to know the truth.”

“Wow, that’s really…” _amazing_ “uh, brave.”

“You think so?”

“I do.”

“What’s your take on him?”

“I-um, I agree. I think he’s trying to do good.”

“Wow. You’re the first person who actually agrees with me. Everybody thinks I’m nuts.” she muttered. 

“You’re not nuts”, Matt insisted, barely aware he had taken a step closer to her. “I think you should go ahead and write the story.’ 

“You think?”

“Yeah. I already know it’s something I’d want to read.” 

“Wow. Thank you”. She shook her head as if to shake all of the bad thoughts. “I should really get out of your hair, I’ve taken up enough of your time. Thank you so much for this, really.”

“Oh, my pleasure. Like I said, it’s the least I can do.” He was surprised to find that he really, really didn’t want her to leave. 

Those eyes of hers were on him again, and before he even knew it, Karen was kissing him. At first Matt was too stunned to get into the kiss, and by the time his brain caught up to what was happening, Karen was pulling away with a gasp.

“I uh-I should go. Thanks again for the shirt, `` she stammered and was gone. 

*******************

_Much later that night_ ….

Matt grabbed a beer from the fridge and popped the cap off, sitting down with a thud on one of his kitchen chairs. This was about the time he’d start getting ready to go out, but his head just wasn’t in it tonight. He hadn’t taken a night off in months, so he was probably due for one. And given how calamity-filled his morning had been, he’d probably stumble home with multiple broken bones- or worse.

His mind was still consumed with Karen. He had sensed the blood rushing to her face after she pulled away; he knew she had been embarrassed after she had kissed him, and he had been too stunned to chase after her. He wanted to see her again, and it shouldn’t be too hard to find a Karen who worked in obits at the Bulletin, but was that what she wanted? She couldn’t have gotten out of here any faster after she kissed him. That kiss...the kiss his mind kept going back to all day. The kiss he knew would haunt him. The kiss he wanted more of but he had been too frozen in the moment and now he would never see her again…

He looked up as he heard someone enter the building. Was it too much to hope? But as the footsteps got closer to the stairs and then were making a slow, deliberate climb up, he gave in, and then they were approaching his door and he had to stop himself from flinging the door open before she could knock. He made himself count to ten when the knock on the door came, and then he was opening it and she was there, and it was like a dream. 

“Hey” Karen said, her voice a little breathless.

“Karen!” he answered. Jesus, could he sound any more eager? “Come in”.

“I brought your shirt back-I washed it”.

“Oh, you didn’t have to-”

“I, um, I really just wanted to apologize for the whole kiss thing though. I seriously don’t know what came over me, but you were just so...nice, and so easy to talk to, and I haven’t encountered many people like you lately, none at all, actually, and I’m so sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

Matt took a step closer to her, closing the gap between them.

“Please don’t be sorry. I’ve been kicking myself all day for letting you run out of here.”

“I...wait, really?”

“Really. Before you got here I was wondering if you’d think it too much of an imposition if I tracked you down at the Bulletin.”

Karen laughed, and ran a hand through her hair. “Wow. I was so sure I had freaked you out.”

“Not at all. Karen, I haven’t been able to get you-and the kiss out of my head all day. And I know that’s crazy considering we’ve only known each other a matter of hours, but, can I take you out sometime?”

“Yes.” Karen’s answer was out as soon as the question left his lips. “Yes, I would like that. A lot.”

Matt beamed. “I-uh, I know it’s late, but would you like to come in for a drink?”, he made a gesture with his hand towards his beer sitting on the table.

He could sense Karen smiling at him, and he felt a rush of warmth all over his body. 

“Yeah, that sounds great.”

Matt helped her out of her coat, and realized he hadn’t stopped smiling since she had arrived. The bad day that he had been so convinced of this morning had actually turned out to be pretty damn good.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the song "When You Say Nothing At All", of which there are many versions. The one used in the movie is by Ronan Keating (my own personal favorite.
> 
> I tried really, really hard to work in “surreal but nice” (a line from the movie if anyone is not familiar) but couldn’t make it sound like a natural line of dialogue
> 
> Matt Murdock does not strike me as someone who would drink iced coffee, and I originally wrote it as just a regular cup of (hot) coffee before realizing that him spilling a hot coffee on Karen would be really, really bad for her, so for that reason alone, I have him drinking iced coffee. (In the movie it’s orange juice that’s spilled all over Julia Roberts, but I just couldn’t see Matt simply having to stop and get himself a cup of orange juice.) ;)


End file.
